Network

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How you know you're middle aged and going to gigs:

After the (amazing!) support act Karkasaurus, we went back to the bar and the first thing D said was "I have got to improve my cardiovascular fitness." (I wasn't expecting this at all, so I burst out laughing.)

His ear plug came apart when he tried to take it out, and it's still stuck in his ear. I got to put a teaspoon of olive oil in his ear now that he's in bed, which might help it find its way out. Protecting your hearing is important, but what a nuisance this is!

Saturday 13 December 2025

Do you have a Doctor Who community or a journal that we are not currently linking to? Leave a note in the comments and we'll add you to the watchlist (

doctor_watch).

Editor's note: Because of the high posting volume and the quantity of information linked in each newsletter, doctor_who_sonic will no longer link fanfiction that does not have a header. For an example of what a "good" fanfic header is, see the user info. Spoiler warnings are also greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Off-DW News
The War Between the Land and the Sea (spoilers)
Blogtor Who: review of Plastic Apocalypse
Blogtor Who: UK overnight ratings for the first two episodes

Other news from Blogtor Who
Blogtor Who's Friday Video of the Day is a a clip from The Green Death
Blogtor Who: Props from the television show to be auctioned off through Propstore in 2026

(News from

blogtorwho_feed today but also may include

doctorwhonews_feed on other days, among others.)

Discussion and Miscellany

purplecat with a photo of the Twelfth Doctor and Me in The Woman Who Lived

Fanfiction
Completed
Idyllic by

badly_knitted [Fifteen | G]

Recommendations

paranoidangel recommends The Annoyances of the Future being Reliant on the Doctor's Pet by ThoughtsCascade [Missy, Clara | not rated]

If you were not linked, and would like to be, contact us in the comments with further information and your link.

(no subject)

Watch on YouTube

So, over at /r/Englishlearning there is a weekly "What is this thing" post

The goal is to herd all the "What do you call this?" posts into the comments there. It never ever works. However, they do occasionally get comments like "Here are the answers to the questions you asked rhetorically as an example" and "Why do you keep posting this and asking the same questions" and "There is no such thing as a pork burger".

Yes, Virginia, there is a pork burger. This is why I have a picture of pork burger patties on my phone, so I can post it every time somebody says that those don't exist, or that they "really" mean a breakfast sandwich or a pulled pork sandwich or a ham sandwich or a BLT.

I always want to ask these people who, I guess, don't get out much why they're so sure that anything they haven't personally heard of before must not exist. It's a big old world, but apparently, not so much for them.

(I suppose I can be forgiven for being a bit snippy this time around, I mean, given everything.)

***********************

( Read more... )

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Saturday Word: Spiccato

Spiccato - adjective.

Spiccato is a string instrument bowing technique where the bow bounces lightly and rhythmically off the string. Originating from the Italian verb "spiccare" (to separate), spiccato relies on the bow's natural spring and elasticity.

Here's a video demonstrating spiccato, as I have no musical talent whatsoever to try and explain it :-)

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Dancing in the Flames - the Weeknd

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"You can hug it out, or you can pick up a bat."

Fascinating read here: Whose League Is It Anyway? on Defector. The comments are mostly worth reading too - I especially liked this one: "One of the reasons that collective bargaining exists is that it channels labor into a well-controlled process of negotiating and grieving within a framework that still respects the legitimacy of capital and is willing to enforce its prerogatives with violence."

I also added both books discussed in the post to my to read list: Every Day Is Sunday: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Roger Goodell Turned the NFL into a Cultural & Economic Juggernaut by Ken Belson, and Lords of the Realm (about baseball) by John Helyar.

Also, I don't know who Maggie Nelson is (I am old), but I thought this was a really good piece of criticism of her new book: Maggie Nelson Sputters And Stalls In ‘The Slicks’, which is apparently a (hamhanded and faily) attempt to parallel Taylor Swift with Sylvia Plath. I mean, I'm not going to lie, I enjoy many of TSwift's songs and I'm not a huge fan of Plath's work, but come the fuck on!

Anyway, I continue to find my subscription to Defector worth it, even if I don't read it as often as I'd like.

In other news, I was up early this morning, because the super said he was going to stop by to install my new apartment doorbell (when they put in this app-based front door system, it for some reason caused the bells at the apartment doors to stop working), but he hasn't shown up yet, and I'd be very surprised if he does at all. Oh well, I will try again when I'm off next week. Maybe 3rd time is the charm!

*

Current Mood: busy
Current Location: House in the woods at the edge of town
Current Music: Dinomite Twins Twitch Stream

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Matches Malone who?

( Scans under the cut... )

Nominations Opening Soon!

The pinned post at the top of the journal now shows the schedule for 2025/2026!

The nomination window will be a little longer this year because approvals will be slower on some days, so nominations will open December 17, 12:01 AM EST.

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Speak Up Saturday

Assortment of black and white speech bubbles

Welcome to the weekly roundup post! What are you watching this week? What are you excited about?

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Posted by Judy

https://thewoksoflife.com/whole-wheat-dinner-rolls/?adt_ei=*|EMAIL|*

https://thewoksoflife.com/?p=94123

These whole wheat dinner rolls use 100% whole wheat flour, but they are soft, pillowy, and a little sweet. If you’re looking for an easy, healthier dinner roll recipe, this is it! A Healthier Dinner Roll I developed this recipe from my Perfect Whole Wheat Bread, which I make in loaves for sandwiches and toast. […]

https://thewoksoflife.com/whole-wheat-dinner-rolls/?adt_ei=*|EMAIL|*

https://thewoksoflife.com/?p=94123

Whatcha Reading? December 2025, Part One

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/12/whatcha-reading-december-2025-part-one/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=164216

Cozy winter still life: cup of hot coffee and book with warm plaid on windowsill against snow landscape from outside. Welcome back! It’s our first Whatcha Reading of the month, and that means only one more to go before 2026. Here’s what we’re reading:

Lara: I’m reading and enjoying Dom-Com by Adriana Anders. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I’m finding the growth of trust and intimacy in this book particularly great. There’s a lot of (hot) sex/scenes but each one pushes the characters development and evolution.

Elyse: I’m reading Audition by Katie Kitamura. ( A | BN | K | AB ) It’s not romance but I’ve heard multiple people say it’s wonderful and its shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

It’s also 200 pages which is right where my attention span is right now.

Amanda: I’ve been using my TBR game board and landed on “continue a series.” Throne of Secrets by Kerri Maniscalco ( A | BN | K | AB ) is book two in the Prince of Sin series and I really enjoyed book one. My only gripe is that it’s hardcover and lugging it around is less than ideal.

Carrie: I’m polishing off The Novel Life of Jane Austen: A Graphic Biography by Janine Barchas and Isabel Greenberg ( A | BN | K ) and it is delightful.

Sarah: I’m currently reading Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel, which I just started. I think I might have a thing for “magical hotel/boarding house” stories. I know I like innkeeping stories – one of my favorite Nora’s is Born in Ice, about a woman who runs a bed & breakfast, though magic isn’t a major plot point. I’m very curious about where this book is going.

A | BN | K | AB

Shana: So I’m currently hate reading Fascinating Womanhood, ( A ) an anti-feminist self help guide published in 1963. It is WILD.

Sarah: I’m both intrigued and alarmed.

Shana: I can’t really recommend it. The book feels a bit like if NXIVM and a religious cult had a baby, and that baby spoke with hyperbolic mania.

I’m at the point where the author explains that men’s ideal woman has the “charms of femininity, radiance, good health, and childlikeness.” Also domestic skills and inner happiness.

So a child in a frilly dress, who happily scrubs floors using her healthy body and knowledge of cleaning supplies.

Sarah: Yikes on trikes.

Whatcha reading right now? Tell us in the comments!

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2025/12/whatcha-reading-december-2025-part-one/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=164216

Well, my pay didn't come in

And one email and voicemail later, my pay didn't come in and nobody has responded yet. (I did wake up pretty late, but seriously.)

I'll call again in the morning, I don't care if it is a weekend, but....

*headdesk*

I don't know what I'll do for groceries if this isn't resolved by Monday, but I'll wait until Monday to worry about it.

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music

Music: Free download of kaval music

A kaval is an end-blown flute common in the Balkans. In Bulgaria, they're typically made of cherry wood and come apart into three pieces. In Macedonia, they're made of a lighter wood (ash?) and are narrower and all in one piece. I have one of each and can kind of get a sound out of them, which is an accomplishment.

David Bilides writes:

In 2019, Steve Finney produced a CD of Nikolay Doktorov, one of the many excellent kaval teachers we've been fortunate to have at the EEFC [Eastern European Folklive Center] camps, playing 17 solo pieces on Bulgarian kaval. In the interest of getting this wonderful music "out there," Nikolay has given his blessing to it being distributed for free via online download.

You can read about Nikolay and this project, and access the free CD files and booklet (designed by Dan Auvil) by visiting this web page:

https://izvormusic.com/cds/doktorov.html

EEFC puts on a couple of week-long camps a year, one on the east coast and one on the west coast. They also host a mailing list where very knowledgeable people share words to songs, have deep discussions on their meanings, post events, and occasionally share free music like this.

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A most stressful week...

This has been a super-stressful week. We had a somewhat lighter than usual round of medical appointments this week, but it was more than made up for by home repair appointments.

We had the garage door installation scheduled for Tuesday, which ended up not being completed that day, so the technician would have to come back Wednesday. Then Tuesday night I discovered that the basement drain was backing up whenever we used the washing machine, dishwasher, or kitchen sink, so I called the plumbing company for that, but they weren't able to send a plumber out until Friday afternoon.

Then Wednesday night, right after the garage door technician left, L. discovered that the washing machine was leaking (totally not related to the basement drain backing up). I tried to fix it, but ended up making it worse. So I had A. call an appliance repair service, who said they could send someone over Thursday morning.

Thursday morning the appliance repair technician came and fixed the dishwasher. Then I had to take A. to get allergy shots, then we went to Ricky's house, where I shoveled the 7-8 inches of snow we'd gotten over the previous two days. (He doesn't drive, but I had to shovel a path from the street to his door so Meals on Wheels could deliver and also to shovel his back stairs to he could let his dogs out.) I'm still sore from this.

Today I had a National Heritage Responders meeting (which went very well), then I had to wait for the plumber to arrive and fix the basement drain. We had originally had a noon to 3PM window for him to show up, which got pushed back to a 2:30PM to 4:30PM window and he ended up showing up at about 3:45PM.

All the house things have been successfully fixed, and we're planning to enjoy this weekend's cold weather from inside the house as much as possible. (It's -2°F out right now, and supposed to go down from here, then only to get as high as 0°F tomorrow, and not to get into actual positive temperatures until Sunday.) But anyway, that's why I've got a massive mental backlog of posts I want to make, and why I've got a folder in my email of comments from you that I want to respond to, and so forth. I hope you're all doing well.

Ugh

I'm feeling really pissy with myself right now. I can't even pretend I know what I did with the last oh I don't know 4 hours. And about quarter to 7:00 I realized there was a dance nearby I could go to and then I thought about going and I didn't know who was going and I didn't get ready and then I didn't and then I thought oh I will go to the Balboa because that's only $10 and it's from 8:30 to 11:00 and at that point it was like most of it or maybe it was 8:00 I could totally have done that but now it's 9:15 and it's a half hour out to Glen Echo and sure it's not that that a price for the hour but it's a half hour drive each way and so I'm not and that's all well and good but then I'm also barely getting any exercise anymore and I miss dancing and I didn't go dancing last night and I don't know if I'll get dancing on Sunday maybe I could. Acro is late in the day for change just everything is so much tetrising and somehow all the time is gone I don't understand that either. And I was annoyed because I felt like oh God I have all this stuff I should do in the house that works better if there isn't someone here with me and then I did kind of clean some of the kitchen and then I got out to the Christmas Market and found some things or at least figured out some things maybe and I'm just tired that's probably a matter of not doing enough of my asthma drugs but it's also just I keep not doing things I keep not dancing I keep not visiting with people I keep losing time and there's only so much time you know.

And maybe I just need more water and didn't realize I need more water I don't know. And also more than a little annoyed that I have a whole lot of sparkles in my hair and none of them are visible with my hairs up like I almost always have my hair up and I went back to her and I got a lot more sparkly to put in my hair having explained to her that they don't show with my hair up

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Would Sauron’s Ring Be More Tempting As a Death-Ray Bazooka?: JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #30 (JLI 36)

The cover and title--“Teenage Biker Mega-Death!”--both have a cheeky charm, but don’t be fooled. I’d call this the darkest story of Giffen and DeMatteis’ run, more so than the funeral episode, Blue Beetle’s mind imploding, or even the Despero stuff. Warning for death, violence, body horror, and a sense of crushing hopelessness I normally associate with election night 2016.

( Even the first time I read this, I was like…‘‘JESUS.’’ )

Apples

https://xkcd.com/3180/

The experimental math department's budget is under scrutiny for how much they've been spending on trains leaving Chicago at 9:00pm traveling at 45 mph.

https://xkcd.com/3180/

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friday five

Friday Five - 12/12/25

1. Did you get an allowance as a kid, and if so, how much was it?

My dad gave me a fiver a week that he put into a bank account I had. First it was with Leeds, then the Abbey National. I saved it mostly until I was a teenager, and then I mostly used it to go out with my friend Lisa Taylor. In sixth form every Tuesday we went to see the new film at the Commodore and then played air hockey at the Peir until the last bus. We went regardless of what film was playing and we watched some doozies lol. My mum gave me £2.50 every week on Monday to suppliment my free school meals allowance.

2. How old were you when you had your first job, and what was it?
I was 16 and babysitting for the Moore-Colliers. My mum cleaned their house and they were both academics of some sort. Mrs Moore-Collier often worked in Edinborough and was away so I babysat for Mr Moore-Collier. They had two boys who were easy to look after and then Mr Moore-Collier would come home drunk more often and not, shove some money in my hand and send me home in the taxi that had brought him home. Mrs Moore-Colliar paid me exactly what she said she would, lol.

3. Which do you do better: save money or spend money?
Spend. I used to be better at saving, when I was a kid, but I dunno, I got some independance. I can save for big purchases, like my bow and other stuff. But also, I sold some stuff on Vinted and have already spent the money before I got it.

4. Are people more likely to borrow money from you, or are you more likely to borrow from them?
I am more likely to borrow money. Definitely.

5. What's the most expensive thing you've ever bought?
My wife's cars. And my printer. It's an Epson Eco-tank 8550. My bow and extras cost less than 300 all told.

Entry tags:

IRA

tl;dr still waiting for things

The latest on that inherited IRA is that I got two email messages from Fidelity today, one saying that I needed to do something [unspecified] to transfer the money from BNY, and one saying specifically that BNY had told Fidelity that they, BNY, needed to talk to me.

So, I called BNY, and after various annoyances with their phone tree, talked to someone. He told me that they had no record yet of receiving the form I sent by next-day mail, but that if the form had arrived late Wednesday they might not be scanned until late today or even Monday. Also that once the form is scanned into the BNY system, it may take a few days before they actually transfer the money into my name, which would be necessary in order to move it to Fidelity.

So, I can (and probably will) call Monday to check that the form was in fact been received, but he thinks I should call later in the week, maybe Wednesday, maybe as late as Friday, and ask for my brand-new account number. Once I have that number, I have to fill out appropriate paperwork with Fidelity. *sigh*

I am both annoyed that even paying for next-day delivery, this is taking several days, and thinking that if I hadn’t paid for faster delivery I would be a few days further behind.

The man also said that once the funds are transferred, they will send me an acknowledgement by mail, including the new account number. However, waiting for that to arrive (rather than getting the information by phone) does not seem prudent, given the IRS deadline for the 2025 required minimum distribution.